I chose this article because it discusses the theory of evolution, which is part of what I will be teaching for my unit. The author discusses how two similar species of birds migrate and share the nests they built by rotating the time spent in the nests. This is related to evolution because the birds have adapted and made a suitable living environment where both can survive equally well, which would be an example of coevolution. The researchers involved in studying these birds supported Charles Darwin's theory that similar species can arise in the same geographic location without any barriers (rivers, oceans, mountains). This idea was supported because the birds, storm petrels, showed a different genetic make-up when DNA samples were collected, depending on what season they lived in the burrows. Even further research found out that these birds had not cross breeded from a period of 1,000 to 180,000 years, which could account for the divergence of the two similar, yet genetically different species of petrel that breed in different seasons and rotate their living situations.
As short as this article was, I thought it showed a very nice recent application of Darwin's theories. As science teachers, I feel we always expect to talk about the Galapagos Island when teaching evolution and divergent species, but this could have been something to bring into class and show the students that these theories are still being put to use in trying to explain why differernt species exist the way they do. When I teach, I would love to be able to have access to The Science Teacher or any other scientific journals because it could be a great way for students to expand upon what they are learning in the classroom to see it actually being used in the real world. One critcism I have is that the journal did not provide an author, which gives people, like myself, a hard time if they wanted to find out more about these birds and the scientists researching them.
I chose this article because it discusses the theory of evolution, which is part of what I will be teaching for my unit. The author discusses how two similar species of birds migrate and share the nests they built by rotating the time spent in the nests. This is related to evolution because the birds have adapted and made a suitable living environment where both can survive equally well, which would be an example of coevolution. The researchers involved in studying these birds supported Charles Darwin's theory that similar species can arise in the same geographic location without any barriers (rivers, oceans, mountains). This idea was supported because the birds, storm petrels, showed a different genetic make-up when DNA samples were collected, depending on what season they lived in the burrows. Even further research found out that these birds had not cross breeded from a period of 1,000 to 180,000 years, which could account for the divergence of the two similar, yet genetically different species of petrel that breed in different seasons and rotate their living situations.
As short as this article was, I thought it showed a very nice recent application of Darwin's theories. As science teachers, I feel we always expect to talk about the Galapagos Island when teaching evolution and divergent species, but this could have been something to bring into class and show the students that these theories are still being put to use in trying to explain why differernt species exist the way they do. When I teach, I would love to be able to have access to The Science Teacher or any other scientific journals because it could be a great way for students to expand upon what they are learning in the classroom to see it actually being used in the real world. One critcism I have is that the journal did not provide an author, which gives people, like myself, a hard time if they wanted to find out more about these birds and the scientists researching them.
~ Beth C.
Time-sharing Birds
...and if that link doesn't work